


Eternity

by Vauvenal



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Timeline, F/M, Fluff, Mutual Masturbation, NSFW in later chapters, Romance, Undertail, You Have Been Warned, pre-game
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-04
Updated: 2015-12-03
Packaged: 2018-05-04 20:39:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5347793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vauvenal/pseuds/Vauvenal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One lonely day, Sans heard a voice through the door to the ruins.</p><p>Pre-Game, alternate Timeline</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eternity

The night was a cold one, clouds obscuring moon and stars, the white snow emitting an almost unnoticeably dim light. Nights like these usually forced the people of Snowdin to curl up underneath several blankets and wait for morning to come, for light and warmth chasing away the creepy darkness. Only very few people were up during these hours – guards on patrol and the occasional shady subject scurrying along in the small alleys. But aside from those, there was someone else.

A certain lone skeleton, hood over his head and hands buried in the pockets of his sweater, was trudging through the snow, leaving deep footprints and white, short-lived clouds of breath behind. Sans had been up since the early morning hours. No matter how many times Alphys told him that she had seen no one escape the ruins; since the last incident, he didn't want to take even the tiniest risk. That incident had almost destroyed their entire existence if it hadn't been for him.

When the horizon was turning from black to gray to dusky blue, he blinked slowly and sighed. Yet another sleepless twenty-four hours, yet another patrol without any success. But shouldn't he be happy about that? The fact that no one had attacked them, that no one had intruded? And indeed he was.

Slowly, he stumbled back home to get a few measly hours of sleep before Papyrus' endless enthusiasm would shoo him out his room and into the day.

 

Later he was sitting at his hot-dog-stand-slash-sentry-post in Hotland, trying to stay awake, but his eyes were permanently slipping closed, lids heavy and sight blurred. He knew he couldn't go on like this much longer, but if the worry for his people kept him awake at night anyway, he might as well make himself useful. Who cares about being tired. He was the last wall standing between the intruders and the elimination of his people, their last line of protection. And he'd seen them die far too often.

No one could remember. No one could remember what he'd seen, what had happened. _Maybe it's for the better_ , he thought to himself, staring into the steam clouds above the lava, _That they don't have to worry, too. I don't want anyone else to suffer from these nightmares._

Whenever his energy was used up and he couldn't keep himself from spending a few hours in bed or at least napping, memories of distant pasts – or were they visions of near future? - haunted him and he always woke up in bundled sheets, sweaty and panicked that one of his dreams might not have been a dream, that one of them came true, that a murderer was on the loose, a murderer he hadn't been able to stop in their killing spree.

But he never told anyone. Never. Not even a word. The only person who remotely knew how he felt was Grillby, who'd had Sans sitting in the bar way past midnight, empty ketchup bottles next to him and a dull, lifeless gleam in his eyes.

Sometimes Sans even caught himself whispering into the emptiness of his own room, hoping for an answer, but at the same time being scared of someone listening.

“God damnit, Gaster … Why. Why the fuck did you pull me into this? And why did you leave me with it? Do you have any idea how much it hurts to be the only person who knows? Who knows what could happen, what will happen, what has happened? Why did you leave me alone with this burden?” He would bury his head in his hands and whimper silently. “All I want is a normal life ...”

One time, he'd woken up screaming in terror, his sight reddened by the vision of blood dripping out of an open wound and white dust being blown away by the wind, leaving only a red scarf behind. Immediately, Papyrus had come running to hold him, to warm him and to tell him that _whatever happens, I'll always be there for you_.

Sans had started to cry.

Yes, his life wasn't an easy one, his jolliness and puns part of a facade he kept up to fool others and to fool _himself_ that he was happy with how things were going. People laughing with him and about his jokes was the light of his life, was what kept him going, kept him alive. And so he kept on and on and on.

When he wasn't busy watching for intruders, he could usually be found sitting at one of his posts with pen and paper, thinking of new puns, jokes and comedic acts. He was winging most of his performances and just rolled with his listener's answers, but having some lines up his sleeve was never a bad thing. When he was on his daily patrol routine from Snowdin through the forest to the big door and back, he heard a noise, coming from the other side of the door. Alert, he sneaked closer, leaning his head against the smooth stone to listen.

“Knock, knock!”, called a voice from inside. He furrowed his brows.

“... who's there?”

A gasp. “Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't realize someone was out there. I was just practicing some jokes to entertain myself and ...”  
“Woah, woah, wait wait wait wait,” Sans interrupted the person. “Who are you? What are you doing in there?”

“Umm … I live here. That's what I'm doing.”

He couldn't hold back a chuckle. “And you practice knock-knock jokes on this door?”

“Well … once in a while,” came the drawn-out answer. Apparently someone was a little embarrassed.

“Funny we've never met before. 'cause I'm using this door for that, too.” Sans grinned widely. “Name's Sans. Sans the skeleton.”

“Oh. Nice to meet you, Sans.” Again, a chuckle, this time from the other side of the door. “Knock, knock!”

Oh, so that's the game they wanted to play. “Who's there?”, he answered. “Old lady.”

“Old lady who?”

“Oh, I didn't know you could yodel!” The laugh of the person behind the door was bright and heartfelt, and Sans wished for nothing more than to be able to see the person's face. “That's a good one! I gotta memorize that. I'm working myself _down to the bone_ trying to find good jokes.”

The other laughed again and Sans grinned to himself. “I like your sense of humor.”

“Likewise.”

He sighed deeply. “Okay, so … look, I gotta go now. My brother's waiting for me. But … would you like to meet again? Tomorrow? At the same time?”

“Sure! I would love to.”

“Then … hear ya tomorrow.”

And Sans walked away from the door with a smile.

Although night was already falling, it felt less dark and less cold than usual.

 

Of course, he came to visit the next day. And the day after that and the day after that. It had become a routine for him, for both of them, to wait at the door in the late afternoon for a familiar voice saying “Knock, knock.” Sometimes they even said it at the same time, bursting out in that refreshing laughter that brightened Sans' day every time he heard it. It gave him the small feeling of happiness he'd needed in his life the whole time. Naturally, he was curious what the face behind the voice looked like, but for the moment, talking through the door was enough for him – as long as he wasn't as lonely anymore.

One day though, there was no “Knock, knock.” Sans waited for a bit, watching the shadows of the trees grow gradually longer as night started to fall, before he asked: “Hello? Are you there? I'm freezing _down to the bone_.”

No answer.

Sans furrowed his brows, knocked on the door. “Hey! Why aren't you answering?” A few more minutes of waiting until he sighed deeply and shrugged his shoulders. Well, they couldn't be there _every_ day. So he left the door behind, slowly trudging home through the snow. Hm. Too bad. He'd prepared such a nice joke, just for today … well, there was always tomorrow, wasn't there?

But no, there was no tomorrow, at least not a tomorrow where they'd meet up again. There was no voice, no footsteps, no knocking. This continued for a week, yet another evening, yet another useless walk from Snowdin to the ruins and back. The more often he received no answer, the closer he grew to just giving up and letting bygones be bygones. One last time though, he decided to pay the door a visit.

“Knock, knock,” he murmured, voice thick with resignation. “I guess I should leave you alone.” He put a hand on the solid stone and sighed. “Was nice while it lasted though. I'll go back home now.”

Just as he raised a foot to turn around, he heard something from inside. Hasty, heavy steps and then something bumped against the door.

“No, wait!” The person inside took a few deep breaths. “I'm sorry I kept you waiting for so long, I really did not mean to, it was just … I have been a little busy and couldn't come during the last week. Please forgive me, can you?” The voice sounded almost desperate now and a little shaky, too. A chuckle escaped Sans' mouth.

“Sure. It's always nice to meet up with you. I wouldn't miss even if I'd _lose my head_.”

The answer was a silent laugh. “That's great to know. Were you feeling _bonely_ without me?”

“Mh. Maybe. What if I said yes?” Although his voice sounded cheeky and teasing, the undertone was something different, something deeper within his soul.

“Then I would be happy. Because … I was feeling a little lonely, too.”

“... oh. Really?”

“Yes. It … it gets kind of lonely when your only companions are flowers, spiders and a few Froggits.”

“Oh wow, that does sound kinda boring. Man, you must be _worn to the bone_ from boredom.”

“Pfft. Oh, stop it.”

“Not if you don't stop it first, _bonehead_.”

The evening continued with several bad puns being thrown back and forth until Sans noticed the time and hastily said his goodbye. “Seeya tomorrow, okay?”

And so they did.

Sans had his back leaned against the stone and had brought a pillow along to make himself comfortable.

“So, my brother is trying to become a member of the Royal Guard. Like, he really admires those guys. Hunting humans, guarding the kingdom, making sure nothing gets outta control out here. He's working really hard, going on patrols and setting up traps and puzzles and stuff and actually, he's pretty good at what he does. Just missing the recognition, yanno what I mean?”

“Mmhm. Yes. I know.”

“... you're so silent today. Is everything alright?”

“... of course. Everything is alright. Why wouldn't it be?”

“Hey. You can't fool me. I might be joking a lot and stuff, but I know when something's up around here,” he answered, “So tell me. You can trust me.”

A loud sigh.

“Well then … it's like this. I have seen … humans come and go through here. Have seen them die. Innocent lives being taken by Asgore. I cannot take it anymore.”

“I see. Is that why you've been away for a week? Have you found a human?”

“No, my absence had another reason. But … I wanted to ask you if you could promise me something.”

“I don't like promises. They get broken far too easily.”

“At least hear me out. Please.” The voice was shaky and hoarse, almost as if the person was holding back tears. He sighed.

“Okay.”

“It's not that hard. I just … please, if there ever comes another human through these doors … protect them. I tried to do it myself, but they all decided to escape, to run into their own death instead of just spending a nice, comfortable life here. And you are the first person from outside the ruins to talk to me in a long, long time. Can you do this for me?”

Sans knew this was a bad idea. He knew it far too well and yet, he took a deep breath and said: “Sure. I promise. I'll protect them.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much, Sans.”

“Under one condition, though. Tell me what you were doing that whole week.”

“I … oh no, it is too embarrassing, I couldn't possibly ...”

“Come on, it can't be that bad.”

The other person sighed so deeply that Sans could almost feel the door vibrate with their breathing.

“I couldn't … I couldn't talk to you until I understood myself.”

“Whatcha mean by that?”

“Please don't leave me for what I say now.”

“Hey … I wouldn't ever leave you. I like you far too much for that.”

“... well then.”

Another seemingly endless pause, until the person admitted: “I might have fallen for you.”

If Sans had had a witty answer on the tip of his tongue, he had now lost it. His mouth suddenly went dry and he swallowed.

“Oh. ... wow. That's a new one.”

“Will you leave now?”

He laughed loudly. “Nah. How could I leave someone who … apparently likes me as much as I like them?”

“Are you making fun of me?”

“Nope. Not this time. Absolutely 100-percent serious.”

“Oh,” the person said, and then once again, “Oh. That … is nice.”

For a few moments, both of them enjoyed the warmth of finally knowing the truth, until Sans said: “Will I ever see you? As in, will you ever open that goddamn door?”

“... I do not know if I can do that. The risk is … too high. I do not want to put anyone in danger, neither monsters nor humans.”

“Oh … okay, I understand,” Sans mumbled, staring into the snow. “Then, can I at least know your name?”

“Wait, I haven't told you yet? My name is Toriel.”

“Toriel …” He let the name roll off his tongue. “That sounds like a nice name. I like it.”

 


End file.
